


Blending Day

by Arytra



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Mystic Force, Power Rangers SPD
Genre: Gen, Happy, Hey Look! I made a Holiday!, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 13:45:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1120565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When everything seemed bleak, a great blending saved the day.  The people of Briarwood had not forgotten this and it's finally time for Xander to show his youngest teammate part of his world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blending Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hey look! I made a holiday! Yay!

It was probably that they could have done it on the same day it happened and it would have been just the same, if not more special, but the truth was, none of the citizens wanted to. They wanted to have it during Christmas time and celebrate with each other rather than pick a time of year when none of them had the best of memories. Thus, the Blending Day that they chose was a week before Christmas and everyone celebrated it in Briarwood. It was the day that the humans and the supernatural of the town came together as one. It was that they didn’t just go back to the way things had been before the minute after it was over. They had stayed connected and every Power Ranger team knew that if they needed to send someone who was having trouble fitting in anywhere for guidance, it was Briarwood. Considering the amount of aliens that came out of the woodwork, it was actually a really good system.

Phineas, of course, headed it in between his job and his girlfriend, but Leelee tended to just join in on the planning since she enjoyed being a part of it as well. Nikki might not have been heavily involved, but she did help Toby get everything squared away before the ceremonies. The Rangers were consistently told to stay out of the planning and just enjoy the festivities, nicely by Phineas and with more oomph from the other three. At one point, after Chip kept trying to find out what they were up to one year, they were banished to Rootcore until they were finished which amused the other four members of the tree especially Clare and had all four Mystic Force Rangers glaring at Chip who was more than a little sheepish.

It was well known that there were three tables of food: One for humans, one for the Forest Creatures, and one that was safe for both sides to eat. That had taken a year to figure out, but it wasn’t too difficult after that. As it turned out, rocks were not good for humans and trolls were allergic to peanut butter. Both sides agreed it was an easy mistake to make. Several people on both sides agreed to test various foods to make sure they were safe for both sides as well. Decorations were of all the colors that they could manage, mostly for the Rangers themselves. One person who was visiting mentioned it looked like a Pride Parade to which Phineas cheerfully told him that they had lots of pride there. Xander had laughed for about a week.

Once the decorations were set and the food was put up, they sent Phineas to go get their city’s heroes which he eagerly did. Fire Heart was always the first one to arrive, probably because he tended to stay near the edge of the forest anyway. The great dragon was able to hunt on his own, of course, but it didn’t help that the local children in the town had gotten to feeding him from time to time nor that the butcher thought it was hilarious that Fire Heart was willing to do tricks for a good steak. None of the people of Briarwood were surprised to see Catastros entering the town soon after as a normal black stallion. The children were told to stay away from that one, but Leanbow had a pretty good handle on the horse once he arrived and the horse was pretty docile anymore.

“So, you have all just been doing this since you were Rangers?” Bridge asked, looking around at the party. Xander grinned, happy to show off his home to his former teammate.

“Every year!” He answered. “Well, technically Zuzu took over from her mom and dad a couple of years back, but Phineas still tries to be involved. I think Leelee is enjoying their retirement from it since they took over the store from Toby and Nikki.”

“Wow,” Z said, impressed with the whole thing. Everyone was bustling and one older woman glared at Xander.

“You’re not supposed to be seeing things,” she informed him. Xander gave her a winning smile.

“Got permission from Zuzu herself,” he promised. “As long as I don’t pull what Chip did, we’re allowed to look around.”

“See that you don’t,” she said and she broke into an affectionate smile. “Fiona and I baked a pie for you, Dear. Don’t forget to get some at the gathering.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he assured her.

“And your friends? Are they staying in Briarwood?” She asked, looking them over.

“Nope. Just visiting. I worked with that one once,” he said, motioning to Bridge. Her smile turned into a beam as she looked at Bridge.

“Oh good! We’ve been waiting for you then!” She said as she took off in the opposite direction. “I’ll make sure to have a couple of pies baked up.”

“Tell Fi they’re human!” He called out to her and turned to the SPD Rangers who looked confused. “Fiona’s a troll.”

“Right,” Jack said in a voice that sounded like it was anything but right. Bridge had insisted that he come with and Xander had insisted the more the merrier. They’d tried to get Cruger and Kat to come, but things were just too busy at Headquarters for that to happen. “So, you guys just do this every year. Even though your food isn’t the same and stuff?”

“Every year. We solved the food problem a long time ago. This is one is the human table. The one of there is the mix. It has weird foods, according to both sides, but it’s harmless to eat. Don’t touch anything on the Forest Dweller’s side,” he explained. “I think they roped poor Kira into performing again, but she and Vida tend to plan things out anyway when it comes to music and Phineas has been turning a blind eye to Vida helping for a long time.”

“What did you guys do during the beginning of Earth and Galactic blending?” Sky asked. Xander’s grin faded. Like every other time in history, not everyone was happy to deal with people ‘different’ than them and several aliens had had a hard time find a job or even found themselves on the bad side of a fist. 

“We came together as a group and shunned anyone who tried to start anything,” he answered. As much as his grin had faded, it was replaced by an almost sardonic smile. “It worked. Everything that tried was chased off and we kept each other safe. Plus, we had a dragon.”

They all looked over to see Fire Heart doing the equivalent of begging like a dog to the kids who thought it was the funniest thing. Which it would have been if Phineas hadn’t come over and scolded the dragon for begging. “You mean the one begging for treats?” Jack asked.

Xander shrugged. “He’s learned how to get treats from the kids. Phineas has learned to watch him better. Zuzu learned she has a dragon big brother,” he said as if it were the weather. The five of them exchanged looks as they realized that it probably was exactly the equivalent to that for him. This was his life.

“So,” Z said. “Why did you invite us to Blending Day?”

“Because Bridge was part of my team and you’re part of his team. Hopefully next year, Operation Overdrive will be able to come and we’ll have everyone,” Xander said. The public team tended to have far more commitments than the others did and Andrew had mentioned a charity which they all insisted the Operation Overdrive Rangers needed to help with. “Besides, everyone is welcome!”

There were some cheers that raced around the area at Xander’s words and he grinned. He looked over to see a young, kind of funny looking woman hurrying over. “Uncle Xander!” She called out. “I think we’re about ready anyway!”

He reached over and pulled her into a hug. “I’m showing these guys around,” he said. “Do you think you can make it to Rootcore on your own?”

“Easily!” She answered, looking at the others with a wave. “Nice to meet you! Talk to you more when I get back.”

“If you see any stragglers, Zuzu, remind them it’s Blending Day!” He called out and she gave him a wave that she’d heard him. He turned to the others. “So, festivities?”

Kira was indeed in charge of the music once again though she did listen to Vida’s suggestions. Tori and Madison could be found doing tricks with the water nearby for children. Adam stayed further from the group next to an aging Toby and they just made small talk. All of them, however, headed over to see Bridge.

“About time!” Tori said, pulling him into a hug.

“We’ve been waiting,” Kira agreed. Bridge felt a hand on his shoulder and looked into the approving eye of Adam, completely different than when he’d met him last time. Of course, Adam had had years to think things over and Bridge had had a month.

“Good to see you,” he said quietly. Xander acted nonchalant as he looked at the rest of the town who were peering over to see what was going on.

“I think we’re supposed to be having a party!” He called out and the moment was over. He looked at his temporary teammates. “Got them to stop watching. There’s food to eat, music to dance to, and arm wrestling will be starting soon.”

The SPD Rangers stepped into the world that they didn’t quite understand, but were willing to learn about. True to his world, Xander was right. They were willing to accept them in and just add them in. Xander stood back and watched as they managed to clumsily try to blend in, just as he had years before. He found it made him smile.


End file.
